Meet the adventure legend that is Mike Horn

He’s faced-off polar bears, crocs and K2 and puts his survival down to listening to his inner voice.

There are not many adventurers who are living legends, but Mike Horn is one of them. He’s circumnavigated the globe along the equator, swum the Amazon, trekked to the North Pole in winter and recently taken to climbing 8,000m mountains for relaxation. Just before setting off on his latest expedition to Makalu, he explains why the slow slog of high altitude mountaineering agrees with him and what to do when a polar bear sits on you.

What do you eat for breakfast?Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and if your stomach is really full your day can’t go wrong. In the Arctic I would eat oatmeal with brown sugar, olive oil, and full double cream powdered milk because I needed the calories. More and more people should have proper breakfasts and they would walk out of the house with a smile on their face instead of feeling shit all day.

Ocean, pole, jungle or mountain. What’s next?I’m on my way to the 8,463m peak of Makalu. I thought I’d like to relax a little bit! Hopefully I’ll get to Base Camp on April 18 and summit during the weather window between May 16-26. I’m taking a glider along with me as well to see if I can fly off from the top.